Aquatic robots
Robots that work on or under water — tethered inspection drones, cordless pool cleaners and crewless survey boats.
- underwater robot
- marine robot
- water robot
- Aiper Scuba X1AiperMass 10.9 kgUSD 1,200seen 2026-10-28Aquatic robot > AUV
- Beatbot AquaSense 2 ProBeatbot · CNMass 11.38 kgUSD 2,299seen 2026-10-28 DiscontinuedAquatic robot > AUV
- BlueROV2Blue Robotics · USPayload 1.4 kgUSD 4,900seen 2026-10-28Aquatic robot > ROV
- CHASING M2 PROCHASING · CNPayload 3.9 kgAUD 5,995seen 2026-10-28Aquatic robot > ROV
- QYSEA FIFISH V-EVOQYSEAPayload 2 kgUSD 1,399seen 2026-10-28Aquatic robot > ROV
What it is
An aquatic robot's working medium is water. Water is dense, conductive and opaque to radio, and that shapes every design: the body is sealed to a depth rating, GPS and Wi-Fi stop at the surface, and anything that submerges either trails a tether or is on its own until it resurfaces.
Called underwater, marine or water robots. In this taxonomy the rule is that the primary medium is water; an amphibious product goes to the medium it is sold for. The children are split by two questions: surface or submerged, tethered or free-swimming.
The types
- ROVs — tethered submersibles flown live from the surface: video and often power come through the cable, which limits reach.
- AUVs — untethered submersibles that run a mission alone: further and unattended, but results come back only on surfacing. Pool cleaners are here.
- USVs — crewless boats that survey or monitor on the surface, where GPS works.
What to compare
| Attribute | Why it matters | In this catalogue |
|---|---|---|
depth_rating |
A pool is a few metres; a harbour wall is tens; offshore work is hundreds | 3 m (Beatbot AquaSense 2 Pro) – 300 m (BlueROV2) |
battery_runtime |
Only matters once there is no tether to feed power down | 120 min (BlueROV2) – 660 min (Beatbot AquaSense 2 Pro) |
payload |
Sonar, a grabber arm or sampling gear on top of the camera | 1.4 kg (BlueROV2) – 3.9 kg (CHASING M2 PRO) |
mass |
Whether one person can launch it from a quay | 3.9 kg (QYSEA FIFISH V-EVO) – 11.5 kg (BlueROV2) |
autonomy |
Piloted through a tether, or running a planned mission alone | teleoperated (3), autonomous (2) |
sdk |
Open firmware is what makes the research platforms worth buying | proprietary (4), python (1), ros2 (1) |
Price picture (observed 2026-10-28)
- Professional / industrial: USD 1,399 (QYSEA FIFISH V-EVO) to USD 4,900 (BlueROV2).
- Education, hobby & consumer: USD 1,200 (Aiper Scuba X1) to USD 2,299 (Beatbot AquaSense 2 Pro).
- Priced only in other currencies: CHASING M2 PRO (AUD).
Prices are the latest observation per product, in the seller's currency; see each record's offers for history and VAT notes.
In the catalogue
Professional / industrial: BlueROV2 · CHASING M2 PRO · QYSEA FIFISH V-EVO
Education, hobby & consumer: Aiper Scuba X1 · Beatbot AquaSense 2 Pro (discontinued)
Edge cases
- Robot pool cleaners (Aiper Scuba X1, Beatbot AquaSense 2 Pro): AUVs — untethered and underwater. Shoppers say pool robot;
application: poolcarries that. - Amphibious tracked robots sold for land: ground robots.
Related
Robot · Arm · Humanoid · Legged robot · Ground robot · Mobile manipulator · Aerial robot · Wearable robot · Stationary robot · Kit · ROV (3) · AUV (2) · USV (0) · Camera
Rule of membership
Primary operating medium is water. Amphibious products go to the medium they are marketed for.
Category rb-7 in the whatrobot taxonomy.